Notes From India: Part 2
Jaipur and Ranthambore
From Delhi, Samara, Jesse, and I joined a bigger group of friends for a tiger safari in Ranthambore. It was a beautiful two-day stay at the Sher Bagh Hotel, marked by a moonlit camping dinner that Samara organized. The dinner was a traditional Indian fare served in a thali (see last newsletter) featuring a diverse menu of stews, pickles, and curries. But also, freshly fired bread that was just heavenly. As much as a gluten-free diet is something that undoubtedly makes me feel better in everyday life, a fire-cooked traditional bread under the stars is surely one of the great luxuries of life.
Realistically speaking, we didn’t see much more than some birds and deer during the tiger safari (I highly recommend Mashomack Preserve in Shelter Island or Elizabeth Morton Refuge in the Water Mill for similar animal viewings and not as far of a trek), BUT we did have a great time dressing up for the adventure. (I chose The Row for my safari attire).
From Ranthambore, we took a two-hour drive to Jaipur, and that’s where things took a glamorous turn. We stayed at the legendary Rambagh Palace Hotel and spent the evening at a beautiful party the Maharaja threw to celebrate the Holi religious festival at the palace. The people's dresses and jewelry were beautiful… but the elephants guarding the entrance did it for me. It’s important to remember that this is out there in our jaded world. Maharajas still throw beautiful parties in palaces, and elephants guard the entrance.
The following day we were back to the palace for the second part of the occasion. Here I will take a minute to explain:
So the night before, while in black tie, the Maharaja set fire to a huge wooden pyre, saying goodbye to all the negativity of the past year. Then we danced.
The following day one starts new. So dressed in white, we came back to the palace to ‘play Holi.’ What this means is that you get colorful powder thrown on you (and you throw it back at others), and this represents the positive energy that you get endowed with for the new year. Beautiful, isn’t it?
It’s also damn messy! Powder in the ears, eyes, hair, and mouth, cellphone cases destroyed, and skin stained for months. LOL. This is not for the weak. I’ve chosen to spare my Instagram followers and readers here from images of me as a colorful ball of extreme messiness, but I dare you all to use your imagination.
I’m still scrubbing some of the stains off. But it was spectacular. It was an experience of a lifetime.
Lots of love,
Tash
Appendix:
Sher Bagh Hotel, Sherpur, Khiljipur, Kutalpura Maliyan, Rajasthan 322001, India
Mashomack Preserve in Shelter Island, 79 S Ferry Rd, Shelter Island, NY 11964
Elizabeth Morton Refuge in the Water Mill, 2595 Noyack Rd, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Rambagh Palace Hotel, Bhawani Singh Rd, Rambagh, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302005, India